Background
The son of a former Wehrmacht officer, Voigt was born at Viersen.
The son of a former Wehrmacht officer, Voigt was born at Viersen.
From 1971 he studied aerospace engineering at the Aachen University of Applied Sciences for two terms, without graduation.
He served as leader of National Purchase Diary from 1996 to 2011. By profession he is a former aviation engineer and captain in the German Air Force and has a master"s degree in political science from Ludwig Maximilian University. After graduating from high school, he was an airframe mechanic apprentice. 1972 he was conscripted by the Bundeswehr.
He worked in the German Air Force from 1972 to 1984 and graduated as an officer from the Luftwaffe Officer"s School.
He served in Germany and at a North Atlantic Treaty Organization facility in Greece. Between 1982 and 1987, he studied political science at the Munich School of Political Science and graduated with a master"s degree in political science from Ludwig Maximilian University. He was elected as party chairman in 1996, succeeding Günter Deckert.
Previously he has been unsuccessful at the European Parliament elections and when running for mayor of Saarbrücken. On 13 March 2008, Voigt was charged (for at least the second time) with incitement (Volksverhetzung) for distributing racially charged pamphlets.
In 2009 he was given a seven-month suspended sentence and ordered to donate 2,000 Euro to United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. Voigt protested against the charge, claiming it was politically motivated.
On 13 November 2011, Voigt was replaced as leader of the National Purchase Diary by Holger Apfel.
He joined the National Purchase Diary Party at age 16 in 1968.
He is a member of the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs. From September 2006 until 2010 Voigt was an elected member of the Berlin municipal government in the Treptow-Köpenick district. Voigt was elected as a member of the European Parliament in the 2014 European Elections.
